Registering helps make sure loved ones are notified a whole lot faster in the event of a traffic accident. When emergency responders know who you are and they know your medical conditions, they will also know how to best treat you.

Officials are using the first week of October to push motorists to register. That time has been designated as “Register Your Emergency Contact Information Week.” The resolution was recently signed by Governor Rick Scott.

Our West Palm Beach injury attorneys know we all want our family to know if we’ve had an emergency. It’s important that Florida drivers and I.D. card holders register their information and emergency contact information. Officers throughout the state deal with more than 200,000 traffic accidents each and every year. Having this kind of information on record will help make sure those most important to you know you have been in an accident.

As of now, there are more than 6 million Floridians who have their emergency contact information registered with transportation officials. There are close to 17 million licensed drivers and identification card holders in the state of Florida though, meaning that a lot of people haven’t registered. You can do this online or you can visit one of the state’s driver’s license offices.

The database for this information started back in 2005 after the death of Tiffany Olson. Following her accident, it took roughly six hours for officers to get in touch with her mother. Her mother and a former state representative then worked with transportation officials to launch this database.

In the state of Florida, there were close to 250,000 car accidents in 2010 — or more than 640 car accidents that happened each and every day. More than 2,440 people were killed and another 200,000 who were injured. In addition to this, there were another 110,000 car accidents that were considered property damage crashes.

Officials believe that lives can be saved when emergency responders can contact loved ones in a timely fashion. With this medical and contact information on file, that’s a real possibility.